- The Yu Family Training Field -
It was late afternoon, and the chilly evening breeze swept over me. The sun had not set, meaning our surroundings were still clearly visible, but even then this wasn't really the ideal time for a long training session. However, that didn't seem to hinder the excited steps of the girl before me at all.
"We're here," Yu An Yan announced proudly at last.
The five of us were currently on a large and empty grass field, behind the Yu family main manor. Yu An Xue and Yu An Yan had led us here after we settled on our training method, since it was a - I quote - 'wide and open space where no one can bother us'.
And they were right. It certainly was wide and open, except...this was a bit TOO big.
"Damn. I had no idea there was such a huge field here..." I muttered.
"You don't know?" Yu An Yan asked haughtily. "Heheh, they are called training fields. Every single one of the Four Great Families of Shenzhen have one in their residence. Just ask Qing Yue - she's from the Qing family, right?"
Qing Yue, slightly surprised she was called out all of a sudden, nodded. "That's right! They are used specifically for highly destructive training purposes, as you can probably tell by the name. Oh, but the Qing family's isn't nearly as big as this..."
"What about you, Xuan Kai? Aren't you also from one of the Four Great Families?" Feng Mian asked curiously. She was the only one out of the five of us not born from a wealthy family, and hence was just surprised as I was seeing a field this big behind the Yu family manor.
"Me? Hah," I laughed dryly. "...I was cast out of the family as soon as I was born. How would I ever get the chance to witness such a scene?"
I won't lie though, I have to admit, I was a bit intrigued. I wonder if the Xuan family's field was bigger than this one. Out of the Four Great Families of Shenzhen, the Li family was the strongest, followed by the Xuan family, then the Yu family, and finally the Qing family. But the interesting thing is that sometimes the Yu family would be second, while other times (like currently) the Xuan family would be in that spot. The two were pretty much equal in power and resources, with no clear victor even after years of trying to beat down the other.
"Ah...right. Forgot about that," Feng Mian murmured apologetically, realizing she triggered a bad memory. "It's just...I don't know, I guess I've forgotten you were born without magic..."
Yu An Yan sighed. "To be honest, I did too...ever since I was young, I've heard rumors about this guy. The talentless waste of the Xuan family - was that what they called you? Despicable."
"Eh, it's all in the past," I replied, hoping to move on to a new topic. "Let bygones be bygones. Besides, I never cared much about the rumors anyway."
Qing Yue nodded along to my words happily for some reason, and when I finished, she said proudly, "My Big Brother Xuan Kai is strong. Mere rumors and gossip won't do anything to him, heehee~"
...I wanted to say it was just because I was used to it by now, but decided against that, seeing how proud and happy she was about me being 'strong'. Strong and I don't belong in the same sentence. I may have strong magic compared to other people my age, and put up a strong farce, but deep down, I was weak. I knew that, and it wasn't something I could change, for now.
They say that a strong man knows his own weaknesses...but I find that extremely ironic. If one such man had countless weaknesses, but he recognized that fact and came to accept it, is he considered a strong person? Similarly, if a man was just naturally talented, had innumerable strengths and very few weaknesses, but failed to recognize these flaws, is he considered weak just because of that?
These are extreme examples, but such cases do exist in this world. Maybe, when I find the answer to my own weakness, I will be able to solve this irony. For now, however, I had some training to do.
"Alright, enough talk. The place is here, and the time is now - let's begin our training," Yu An Yan said eagerly, unable to hold back her excitement any longer. She dropped into a battle stance and by the looks of it began channeling her mana.
"Why are you so bloodthirsty-" I began, but then realized that the other girls have all done the same thing, and I sighed. "Very well...let's begin."
*****
- Meanwhile, The Li family Training Field -
A massive yet empty green field stretched over the horizon, as far as the eye could see. On this field were five boys that seemed small compared to the full size of the pasture. They were training in preparation for the Advancement Exams that were to come in about a week.
"What are the two of you doing, huh?!" Li Yi Fei, the first young master of the Li family, yelled impatiently.
The two poor students that were yelled at bowed their heads in apology. "W-We're very sorry, young master!"
"Tch..." Li Yi Fei turned away and fell into a sulk. He then directed his anger at the person who came up with the plan. "Zhang Zhe Rui! How are these two dogshit teammates supposed to help us beat Xuan Kai?!"
Li Yi Fei's team roster consisted of five people: Zhang Zhe Rui, Pang Zi, a boy named Bao Yan Shi, a girl named Ai Yao, and himself. Zhang Zhe Rui and Pang Zi had always been close with him and were labeled as his lackeys by the public, but the other two he wasn't too familiar with. But he knew one thing for sure - they were very weak. They were only barely able to take his attacks.
The two of them had came crawling to him earlier that day, right after Mr. Wang announced the information about the Advancement Exams. He took them as just another pair of suck-ups, and...well, they were. They were just like the others, flocking towards him just to earn the favor of the Li family. Originally, he had wanted to reject them, but Zhang Zhe Rui convinced him to accept for reasons unbeknownst to him. And so, with five people now in his party, he had decided to move somewhere less crowded than the Magic Training Room - the Li family training field.
"P-Please calm down, young master..." Zhang Zhe Rui said exhaustedly. To be honest, he also hadn't known the two of them were this weak when he accepted them into Li Yi Fei's team for the upcoming tournament. He hadn't paid much attention to the two of them, since the plan he had in mind didn't require a fourth and fifth person at all.
But since the Advancement Exam rules state your team must have 5 members - no more, no less - Zhang Zhe Rui was forced to accept two other students into his team. Li Yi Fei was kept in the dark about his true intentions, however, because he knew how careless and boastful of a person the young master was. If he told Li Yi Fei about the full plan now, there was a good chance he would let it slip somewhere. That would be equivalent to wasting all of Zhang Zhe Rui's previous efforts.
Still...Zhang Zhe Rui couldn't help but feel wronged. He had served Li Yi Fei for years now, but the young master hasn't shown a single sign of appreciation. Had Li Yi Fei not been the young master of one of the Four Great Families of Shenzhen, there was no way Zhang Zhe Rui would bow down to him like this.
But he was used to it. Over the years, he had learned to cope with the young master's unappreciative attitude. He had decided a long time ago to rely on the Li family to climb his way up the social ladder. He knew he wasn't strong in magic or physical strength, but he did have a brilliant head atop his shoulders. At a young age, he was exceptionally talented in mathematics and various other subjects, but the unfortunate thing was no one cared.
His family was one that valued strength above everything else. As a boy with low magic aptitude, he was quickly abandoned by his parents. After getting thrown out of the family with no food, no home, and no one to rely on, he had met the first young master of the Li family by chance. Ever since then, Zhang Zhe Rui had followed him, and that was how he survived until today.
He felt indebted towards Li Yi Fei for saving his life, but that didn't mean he was happy about his current situation. After getting abandoned by his family, Zhang Zhe Rui had developed a burning passion to rise to the top. There was no way he would be satisfied living as a servant of the Li family for all his life. There would one day come a time when he would leave Li Yi Fei, and use his own abilities to claw his way to the top.
The things Zhang Zhe Rui was doing now were all part of one giant plan. And when the time came for that plan to be realized, he would be ready.